Overview
Asia is the world’s largest continent, covering about 30% of the Earth’s land surface. With a population of approximately 4.4 billion, Asia comprises of 48 countries, six independent states and other territories. It is a multilingual and multicultural continent, with different ethnic groups throughout Asia. The continent is divided into smaller sub-regions according to geographical and cultural features, such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, North Asia and West Asia (also referred to as Middle East). East Asia consists of China, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea, while South Asia is made up of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Singapore, one of Asia’s biggest financial hubs, is in Southeast Asia.